Old rep collectors don't die - they just fade away

[davewe]

Over the past month I

[rodwc]

I love your straightforwardness (?) and attitude,

I am sure this forum will be a poorer place.

Sorry that we never crossed paths, and finally,

GOOD HEALTH, and GOOD LUCK.

[Pugwash]

Good luck. If I ever come into a lot of money, I'll be writing the same post - I may even copy/paste chunks of this one.

[Fireman_Fred]

You've summed up the ups and downs of rep collecting - excellent !!

[Ztech]

Great post and good luck in your future endeavors. One thing though, if my progression from gen to rep says anything, I might wager that you "might" find your way back here some day.

[capice]

Good luck man in everything you are gonna do........

[FxrAndy]

A great post i only hope that it is not truely you last!

[fendushi]

Excellent post... agree with you 100%

[Watchmeister]

Dave-

Good list. Are you leaving the boards or simply telling us you are done buying reps? I hope it is the latter. There are many folks here who don't buy reps or who go back and forth. If you have been around for a couple of years we all seem to go through phases once we get beyond the Pokemon "gotta have them all" approach. It looks to me like you are in Phase 3.

Life cycle of a Long Term Repologist :

Phase 1 - Buy a lot of reps - they all look good

Phase 2 - Start Modding them with good and bad results

Phase 3 - Get disenchanted and buy gens only. Ultimately not so satisfying either.

Phase 4 - Creep back and buy that occasional rep and/or frankenwatch

Phase 5 - Ultimate Zen - Mix up gens, out of the box reps, heavily modded reps and even work on frankenwatches as budget allows. Number of watches purchased has fallen dramatically but satisfaction has risen

Just remember it is not that reps are reps or gens are gens. Watches are watches. There are good and bad ones and expensive and inexpensive ones. Mix and match to suit budget and taste.

All the best and hope you hang around-

Kruz

[RWG Technical]

Great post.

You covered all the bases from what I can see.

As Kruz stated, I do hope you continue to hang around on the forum.

RG

[dluddy]

Great post Dave. Please do visit from time to time. There are a lot of members in the same mindframe as you or who have been at some point as Kruzer points out. It is this total collective wisdom that makes RWG what it is.

[Jetsons]

Dave, excellent post!

I believe many of us can closely relate to your words of wisdom. I've also had my ups and downs but this is true of any hobby I have become heavily involved with. I've had several ranging from sports cars (ouch!). dirt bikes (another ouch!) to audio but I learned much from my experiences which thankfully more than compensated for the frustrating moments that surfaced from time to time.

I hope you decide to stay and look forward to your posts. There is no need to buy watches every other week in order to chime in.

All the best,

J

[freddy333]

Like the others, I agree with alot of what you said. But, to be honest, my head was nodding (in bemused disagreement) as I tried to rationalize your Top 10s in the overall context of your general conclusion -- that you are 'moving on' & selling off most of your reps because you find the downsides (imperfect designs, serial obsolesce, poor cost vs long-term value, etc.) overshadow the upsides (did I get that about right?).

Your decision to sell most of your rep collection reminds me of the old line about 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'.

Commercially-made reps are, by definition, replicas, which contain built-in inaccuracies that deviate from the design, quality and/or function of the gen watch (or watches, in the case of many Rolex reps where variations may exist) they are based on. At a significantly reduced cost, they can & will never be an exact copy of a gen (although some of the better frankens come frighteningly close). But a select few of the highest quality reps (those that come close enough to fool the general public or average gen owner) allow watch collectors to own & enjoy a number of watches that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. And I have always assumed this is common knowledge? No?

So, if you buy rep A & then, 2 weeks later, Smokin' Joe shows up with rep B -- an even nicer version (based on whatever gauge of nice you use), why should that come as a surprise? (Did you do your homework & visit the AD to try on & familiarize yourself with the gen watch before purchasing rep A so you know what the inaccuracies are?) Obviously, rep A contained a set of inaccuracies (vs the gen) that were later addressed by rep B. And there will likely be a future rep C that addresses still more, making rep B obsolete. And the process will likely continue until it is no longer physically or financially possible to produce improvements without charging gen prices. And this is the way it has always been in the replica world. At least in the 20+ years that I have been collecting watches (both gens & reps).

I completely agree with you that buying gens makes more long-term financial sense than commercially-made reps since reps have no real value, at least not to the general public (outside of our relatively small community), and some gens (especially the likes of Rolex, Patek, Vacheron, etc.) are likely to increase many fold over time. But, on the other hand, as the prices of select gens increase, it makes more & more sense to consider high quality reps as viable alternatives or daily wearers.

So instead of making a break with reps, why not just readjust your goals to factor in both reps & gens as the case merits? That, to me, makes alot more sense.

[AMK000]

• Being the honest guy that I am and having to tell someone who's just complimented me on my watch or asked, "is that a Panerai?" by responding "it's actually a replica – but a really good replica!" I've finally realized that fake is still fake.

The bigest true of all

...... but we are still here.

Stick around Dave.

[Slartibartfast]

I am pleased to see such well informed an wise words in this thread. A lot of what has been said (no, most of it) sums up my own approach to rep collecting. Not surprising then that this forums feels like home.

Though our paths never crossed, Dave..... wishing you well.

[robertk]

Great post, Dave. I've got my share of gens (9....and all expensive) and tons of reps. Personally, I'm a watch nut and never really cared if the rep was accurate to the nth degree. Guess I'm not anal. I enjoy the reps simply because I enjoy the design and don't go nuts trying for the "perfect" rep. PS. It doesn't exist......no matter how close it comes.

I'm still in the game, but my gameplan has changed. I don't go for the initial introduction. I wait for the subsequent version, and I only go for something that truly excites me. I've got reps that are three or four years old and still look good and run well.

All the "anal" stuff goes right over my head. I don't go crazy for relumes, since most of my gens (which include Rollie's, AP's, Breitlings, IWC, DON'T HAVE MUCH LUME left on them either!

Hope you hang around till you reach the next stage, LOL!

[ravishingrick]

Great post. I agree allot about what you wrote about reps, but don't forget there are also some downsides regarding owning and wearing genuine watches:

Genuine watches:

- A basic servicing of a genuine watch by the manufacturer will set you back at least 400$

- The turnover time of genuine watch servicing can take months.

- If something happens to a genuine watch (theft, loss, serious damage) the losses can be very high.

- Most genuine watches do not appreciate in value.

I would advise you to keep a couple of reps for daily wearing and wear the genuine's on special occasions.

[KB]

It sucks when we lose long term members and really it doesn't matter how good (and yes your's is good) the post is.....its still good bye.

I wish you well in any future endeavors Dave, but I do hope you have that itch that needs scratching and pop in from time to time.

Ken

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Dave, I am very glad that I was able to pick the MBW DRSD up from you. Your post has added significant sentimental value to it already! I truly hope that you stick around!

[sattop]

Dave,

I'm one of the lucky ones that bought a piece off your collection.

I'm the proud recipient of one of your watches

Thanks for the sale!!

Edited April 5, 2008 by sattop

[pafre]

Dave,

very good post, couldn't agree more. But for the time being, I will take good care of your Porsche Design.

Good luck

[Guest carlsbadrolex]

Looks like Daves customers are coming out of the wood work. See my post in the Rolex forum about the MBW I just received from him. I assure you it will be held tight for a long time!

[Richard Tracy]

Highly honest and wonderful post !!

Sooner or later the smarter ones realize much of what was stated, either that, or they have some financial motive for not acknowledging or hiding the facts that much of what passes as a pass-time, financially and time wise, has the real potential to be detrimental to the masses no more or less than being the proverbial fish in the a barrel or the sailor on shore leave after being at sea for months with a pocket full of cash and brain full of goo....

Not dismissing the friendships that happen nor the great knowledge of watches in general that will be of benefit when leaving, by maturing or rematerializing into the real world...

That said however, I will always buy rep first to see if my love will last with any particular watch...

That to me is just plain common sense ....

[davewe]

Thanks for all the kind words. I am touched. I won't completely go away - mostly lurk - though who knows when the call will pull me back in.

And for those who purchased pieces from my rep collection - thank you for your words - and hard earned cash. I want you to know that I didn't do anything foolish, like spend the money on food or mortgage payments. Of course not. I spent it on watches!

First I got a Stowa Prodiver and a Bathys 100 Fathoms. And today I scored an Anonimo Millemetri Trilogeo (I think there's a rep of this out there).

http://gallery.mac.com/davewe#100104

And there might even be enough in the paypal account for 1 more of something.

Life is good!

[offshore]

Dave,

From another with very similar views to yours.....i find the knowledge i gain from this forum, allows me to buy used gens with the confidence that I won't get caught!

So it is worth sticking around, just for the tells!

Oh, and there are a pretty knowleagable bunch of members here, a lot who i can now proudly call "friend".

Enjoy your new passion, and say hello from time to time.

Offshore